Flames of the Past
by Yukito097
Summary: Blaze can't shake the feeling that she is forgetting something important. These familiar feelings stir up whenever she sees or thinks about Silver, but she just can't place it. An old enemy may hold the key, but should she trust him? Set after the events of Forces, under the Two World continuity.


"Hm? Have we met before?" Silver scratched his head as he thought on the question. "No, I'm pretty sure the first time I met you was just a couple of months ago, after the war with Eggman was over."

Blaze sighed. "I thought so… Still, I can't shake this feeling that we've met before. That I… know you from some past life or something."

"Maybe you met the me of your world," Silver suggested, to which Blaze simply chuckled.

"It… doesn't work that way. Our worlds are different but not parallel. Anyway, sorry to bother you with this."

Silver frowned and rubbed his arm as he watched Blaze turn to leave. "Sorry I couldn't be more help. Hey, if it's any consolation, I wouldn't mind getting to know you better."

Blaze waved behind her. "Thanks, I'll take you up on that offer. Later." Blaze took off through the air, Silver waving her goodbye. '_Nobody recalls me and Silver even being in this world together, not even Silver himself. But I _know_ I've met him somewhere. It's like a nagging feeling in the back of my mind, but no matter how much I reach, it eludes me constantly._'

Blaze landed atop a cliff, looking out at the sunset in the distance. "If only there was something, _anything_, that could trigger my memory…"

"Well now, I may have just the thing for that."

Blaze gritted her teeth and snapped around, flames swirling around her body as she faced her hated enemy. "Why are _you_ here, Nega?!"

Eggman Nega held up his hands, panic on his face as he stopped in his tracks. "Easy, Blaze, easy! I'm here for the same reason as you… to find out what I've lost!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the gaps in my memory, the nagging feeling that I'm forgetting something, yet nobody else feels that same way… At least, nobody from _this_ world."

Blaze studied Nega for a few seconds, and then gently let her flames die out. "You feel it, too?"

Nega nodded his head. "Yes, and just like you, it has been haunting me for so long! I took it upon myself to journey this world, searching for _anything_ that might prompt my memories. Finally, I found something. Two simple words – Iblis-"

Blaze gasped. "… And Mephiles."

Eggman Nega clapped his hands, cheering as he grinned. "I knew it! Iblis and Mephiles – somewhere within these two names lies the answer to recovering our lost memories!"

"But what does it mean. Who are they, and why do they fill me with… such dread?"

Nega adjusted his glasses as he approached Blaze. "I've done some research, and I've discovered that there is a city on Earth that references these two words – Soleanna."

"On Earth… That's that other world that Sonic and his friends have mentioned."

"That's right, and I just happen to have a ship that can take us there."

Blaze narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "And just how exactly am I supposed to trust you, given all you've done in the past?"

"I know, I know, I've done terrible things," Nega admitted, "But right now, all I want is closure, same as you. Please, Blaze, let us put our differences aside this one time, and work together to find the truth."

Blaze closed her eyes, took in a deep breath… … … and sighed. "Very well."

Nega grinned, nearly jumping for joy, before clearing his throat and regaining his composure. "Very good! So, shall we depart right away?"

Blaze held up a hand. "There's somebody I want to bring along. Someone else who I think is at the centre of all this."

Nega hummed in thought. "I see… Well then, I'll go ahead and prepare the ship. Meet me in the ruins of Chemical Plant when you're ready."

* * *

"What?! Eggman Nega?!"

Blaze shushed Silver, looking around to ensure nobody was looking their way. "I know, he's done terrible things. To both you _and_ me."

"Blaze, there's no way we can trust that guy!" Silver responded in a hushed tone. "It's clearly a trap! We gotta-"

"I know," Blaze said, sighing. "I know, Silver, but I… I don't know what else to do. Ever since I came back to this world and met you, I've felt… _something_ haunting me. There's something I'm forgetting, something important, and now for the first time, somebody has a lead. I've got to follow it, even if it means putting my hate aside for now."

Silver crossed his arms and turned away. "Well, I still think it's a bad idea… but I guess I can't talk you out of it. Okay, I'm in."

"You're sure?"

Silver turned back and nodded. "Yeah. The second that creep shows his true colours, I'll hold him down with my powers! Until then, I'll support you all the way. We are friends, after all."

Blaze smiled at that. "Yes, we are. Thank you."

"So, when are we leaving?"

"There's one place I'd like to stop first. A little 'insurance', if you will…"

* * *

Hours later, the trio arrived on Earth, entering the city-state of Soleanna. Whilst Blaze and Silver walked through the streets as normal, Nega covered himself in a thick trenchcoat and a fedora, to hide his identity. "Chances are people will recognise me as my ancestor," Nega explained as he noticed the odd glances the two Mobians gave him. "Best not to take any chances."

"Good call," Silver admitted. "So, where are we headed?"

"There's a place in the nearby valley that might hold some answers," Nega stated. "It's a research facility owned by the ruling monarchy."

"Wait, a government facility? How did you get permission to snoop around in there?"

"I didn't. That's why I need Blaze's help."

"We're gonna break in?!" Silver rushed forward and stopped in front of Nega. "No way! I won't let you!"

"We don't have much choice if we want to find the truth," Nega said, arms crossed as he tapped his foot impatiently. "Relax, the place was abandoned some time ago. Just a few robots prowling around."

"That's not the point! Blaze, say some- Blaze?" Silver noticed that Blaze had stopped some time ago, and was looking around the city some feet away from them.

"This city…" Blaze muttered, her eyes drifting around the plaza. She examined the buildings, the fountains, the people wandering about, the ocean in the distance… "It all feels so familiar."

"You've been here before?" Silver asked as he approached. Blaze shook her head.

"No, never. But I feel like I could guide us through the streets no problem."

"Indeed," Nega began, "I'm getting the same feeling myself. We're on the right track."

"Silver, I know that it's wrong but… if we're not hurting anybody, just taking a quick look…"

"Blaze, the government's not going to just let us waltz in without putting up a fight. We'll be taking a big risk."

"I'm prepared for that," Blaze said, clenching her fists. "If it means finally putting a rest to these strange feelings of mine, I'm ready to take any risk."

Silver brought his hand to his forehead, groaning as he processed what Blaze was saying. "… Alright, fine. Maybe… Maybe I can use my powers to help us sneak in more quietly."

"See?" Nega chimed in, patting a hand on Silver's shoulder, only for it to be batted away. "We don't even need to cause a ruckus! Besides, I did some preliminary research and the security seems light."

The three continued walking. As they did, Blaze glanced at Eggman Nega. "It's funny, though. The Nega I know would have simply attacked the city as a distraction, and then busted in no problem."

Nega cleared his throat, averting his eyes from Silver and Blaze. "Er, yes, well uh… I'm a little short on robots at the moment, after our last encounter. My ancestor stormed my factories and took them over, so I've been working with whatever scraps I could find laying about. Besides, two – or three – pairs of eyes are better than one."

Blaze and Silver shared sceptical looks, but said nothing further as they continued walking through the streets, towards the city's exit that led to Kingdom Valley.

* * *

"There, that's the place," Nega whispered, pointing from behind a rock towards a large, metallic door embedded into a cliff face. It was guarded by three men in green uniforms wielding rifles. "That's the Soleanna Royal Guard. Getting past them _should_ be simple, but we have to be careful so they don't trip the alarm."

"Just leave that to us," Silver said, his hands glowing as a crate behind the soldiers began to lift into the air. "We'll take 'em out without killing them. Blaze, you ready?"

"Ready," Blaze responded, leaning forward as flames sparked to life in her hands.

Silver dropped the crate on one soldier, startling the other two and prompting them to turn around. Blaze took advantage of the opening to propel herself forwards, reaching the guards before they could even draw their guns, and knocked them out with spinning kicks.

"Let's go!" Blaze shouted, finding the control for the doors and opening them.

The three entered and were greeted to a large elevator, the size of a helicopter pad, that seemed to go down. "It's an underground facility?" Silver asked.

"Under_water_, actually," Nega said. "It's called Aquatic Base." As the three boarded the lift and began their descent, Nega pulled out a tablet and showed them images of various robots marked with the GUN emblem. "Now, Soleanna is a city-state not associated with the United Federation. Even so, GUN outsources robots to them as a show of faith. Therefore, we can expect to meet heavy resistance below."

"What's GUN?" Blaze asked.

"Right, you've never encountered them," Nega said, putting away his tablet. "They're the Guardian Units of Nations, this world's largest and most sophisticated military force. Their robots are powered by the Chaos Drives that my ancestor invented."

"Eggman?"

"No, his grandfather – Gerald Robotnik." Nega shuddered. "A genius who wasted his talents _helping_ people instead of trying to conquer them."

The elevator reached the bottom, and the three stepped carefully off of the platform. They were greeted to a long stretch of hallway that split off into several corridors to either side down the line. "Quiet," Silver noted, eyeing Nega carefully. "Quieter than I was expecting."

Nega simply chuckled. "Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Let's proceed quickly, before any patrols stroll by."

The three rushed quickly but quietly down the hall, stopping at every cross-section to make sure that nothing was coming. A few times they would have to hide behind crates to avoid patrolling robots, but they made it safely to a set of large double doors without any issue. The doors were guarded by large robots with shields that covered their entire bodies.

"I've got this," Silver whispered as he used his telekinesis to rip the shields from the robots. Before they could realise what had happened, Blaze jumped out and fired balls of fire at the two, deactivating the robots without any resistance."

The three went through the doors and continued through the base, meeting little in the way of security, and whatever they did encounter went down easily. "This feels too easy," Silver whispered to Blaze as they followed Nega through a winding corridor. "Even for an abandoned facility, things are just going too well."

"I agree," Blaze replied, "But let's just keep our guards up and keep moving. For now, we'll wait and see what happens."

"This is the centre of the facility!" Nega declared as the three entered a large chamber, filled with computers and complex-looking gadgets. A large tube stood at the centre, energy sparking inside of it that illuminated the entire room with an eerie red light.

"What's that glow?" Silver asked as he walked towards it. "I think I've seen it before."

"Probably some sort of energy generator that provides power to the city," Nega stated with a wave of his hand. "What's important is that any and all data in this facility should be stored here. Let's split up and start looking around."

As the three moved deeper into the room, an army of five blue, spherical creatures descended upon them, guarding the consoles from them. "What are _these_ things?!" Silver asked as they came to a sudden halt.

"Artificial Chaos!" Nega stepped back, allowing Blaze and Silver to take the lead. "I didn't expect to see _them_ here. GUN must be manufacturing these off-the-record…"

"Whatever they are, they're going down!" Blaze charged at the first creature, not hearing as Nega tried to give her a warning. She punched the creature's blubbery body with a burning fist… but then bounced harmlessly off. The creature extended two tentacles at her, but a psychic blast from Silver cut them short.

"Aim for the heads!" Nega shouted. "They're powered by Chaos Drives – destroy those and they can't continue to exist!"

Silver levitated and flew at one of the creatures. It extended its tendrils out, but he nimbly dodged them and closed in on its head. With a single kick, the device broke and a Chaos Drive fell out. The creature below collapsed, the water it was made of spilling to the floor.

Blaze took down two more of the creatures, easily avoiding their attacks. Alarms went off and Nega saw robots advancing down the hallway outside. He ran over to the control panel in the centre. "I have to lock down this chamber before we're surrounded!"

Silver spotted one of the creatures going to attack Nega, and used his powers to freeze it in place. "Hey!" he grunted as he kept his focus on stopping the creature's movements. "Get out of there! I can't… hold it for long!"

"Just a second!" Nega shouted back, scanning through the controls and stealing glances at the monitor above him.

As Silver kept the creature frozen, another came in behind him and attempted to attack. Blaze gasped and charged in to deflect the blow, before sending out a fiery shockwave that destroyed the creature's Chaos Drive.

Nega found the command he was looking forward and watched with glee as every door leading into the chamber was locked down. "There! That should hold them!"

As soon as Nega had moved to a safer place, Silver released his hold on the creature, and then swooped down to take it out.

"We'd better act fast, before the entire Soleanna Royal Guard is here!" Nega stated as he walked to one side of the room, whilst Silver and Blaze approached a console at the foot of the large tube.

As Silver stared at the glowing light, Blaze accessed the computer and furrowed her brow. "Silver," she whispered, checking over her shoulder to make sure Nega couldn't hear them. "Look at these logs."

Silver glanced over Blaze's shoulder. "What's up?"

"These records described recent events that have transpired here. Experiments, time logged by workers, recent shipments from GUN…"

"Wait, so you mean this place _isn't_ abandoned? It's still active?" Blaze nodded her head. "Then… where are all the workers?" Blaze glanced over to Nega, and Silver followed her gaze. "I knew we couldn't trust him!"

"Maybe you were right. Maybe this _is_ too great a risk," Blaze said with a sigh. "But I feel like I'm so close to remembering whatever it is I've forgotten."

"I've found something!" Eggman Nega ran over to the two, carrying an object in his hand. It appeared to be a crystalline sceptre with two white wing-like structures on the head. It glowed a very faint purple as he presented it to Blaze. "I found this sceptre stashed away back there! As soon as I touched it, I started to see some images! A city, a _burning_ city, and the two of you there, fighting together!"

"A city," Blaze whispered.

"A burning city?" Silver asked, taking the sceptre and eyeing it cautiously. "A burning city… Ah! That's it!" He turned to Blaze, and excited look on his face. "Remember? Back when Eggman woke the Time Eater and tried to rewrite history – there was a city there that none of us recognised. None of us, except _you_!"

Blaze gasped, and paused for a few moments, simply staring at the sceptre. "… Crisis City…" She reached towards the sceptre, taking it slowly in her hands and pulling it closer. "That's what we… called the city that we were born into. A city engulfed in flames… by Iblis, and his minions…" Blaze closed her eyes, and thought. "We would fight to save as many people as possible. We fought against Iblis, despite impossible odds…"

"Is it starting to become clear?" Nega asked.

"Yes. The images are… becoming clearer by the second!"

Nega grinned. "I'm glad. Seems all you needed was a catalyst to get the memories rolling in."

Silver eyed Nega, his hands glowing. "What do you mean by tha-" He was cut off as the light from the centre of the room suddenly got brighter, filling the room with glowing red-and-black cubes that began to form an image, An image of a burning city. "This light… It's the Phantom Ruby!"

Blaze opened her eyes and looked around. "Silver, look. This is our home. This is… where we lived, together."

Silver looked around at the city. Monsters made of fire roamed the streets, entire sections of road were missing, and in their places were pits filled with lava. A fiery tornado carried a car in the distance. "This is definitely that city from before, but… I don't recognise it. At all."

Blaze frowned, but then noticed something in the distance. "There! Look!" She pointed to three figures standing in the distance. Two of them were Blaze and Silver themselves. The two of them were talking to the third figure.

"Is that… Shadow?" Silver asked, observing the black hedgehog in the distance.

"No… That's Mephiles."

The images of Silver and Blaze followed Mephiles to a room. There they stood at a computer, where images flashed of a news article on the monitor. "If only we could hear what they were saying," Silver said, watching as their duplicates' mouths moved, but no words formed.

"Right now, Mephiles is talking about the 'Iblis Trigger'," Blaze said, staring at the newspaper image on the monitor. "Fifty years ago, an accident occurred. Eggman died that day, along with the Princess of Soleanna… Elise… She was the one. The one who had Iblis sealed away inside of her."

Silver scratched the back of his head. "So… if I'm understanding you right, this 'Princess Elise' died, and Iblis was freed?" Silver looked around himself. "And that caused… all of this?"

Blaze nodded. Behind them, Eggman Nega huffed. "Yes, yes, it's all very tragic. But Blaze, didn't you _save_ this wretched future in some way?" The two glared as Nega's grin stayed plastered on his face. "Can you remember _how_ you defeated him?"

Blaze's eyes fell to the ground, and she was silent for several seconds. The world began to distort around them, and the shape of the city changed. Suddenly, the two were overlooking their copies on the edge of a cliff, before a big, flaming sphere that emitted black smoke.

The image of Silver held two Chaos Emeralds in his hands, and seemed to be drawing the flames towards himself. Blaze watched with sadness as her copy approached Silver's. "But it didn't work…"

"Blaze?" Silver asked. "What's happening?"

"'We agreed to save the world at any price'," Blaze said, as he copy mouthed the same words. Silver's copy responded silently, and then as Blaze's copy spoke again, she recited, "You were always so naíve. But I… I've always liked that about you."

Silver was about to say something, but he was cut off as the image of Blaze was consumed by light, and her body turned transparent. She floated into the air, sparkling, and then vanished in an explosion that shed light onto the city. The flames died down everywhere, but Silver's copy looked sad and defeated.

"So that's it," Nega mumbled, chuckling under his breath as the image of the city began to fade away, and the three of them returned to the lab that they were in previously.

"Blaze, what happened just now…" Silver began, but wasn't sure how to continue.

"Those were… my memories. Of our life together, Silver." Blaze looked Silver in the eyes, staring at him for several seconds, and then reached out and placed a hand firmly on his shoulder. She gripped it, and then smiled. "I'm so glad… that you're doing alright."

Silver simply smiled back. "Yeah. But I still don't understand. Why don't I remember any of this?"

"Because certain events transpired that erased the incident from history," Eggman Nega explained. "Events undertaken by your friend, Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Sonic?" Silver asked.

"Mephiles. He sent us back in time to _kill_ Sonic," Blaze explained. "But we realized that he was using us the whole time… But there's something wrong…" Blaze turned to Eggman Nega, who was watching with a devilish grin spread across his face. Flames ignited around Blaze's fists as she narrowed her eyes. "We saw the two of us, but not you. In fact, if Eggman truly died in that world, then you couldn't possibly exist."

Silver brought a hand up to his chin as he hummed in thought. "I guess that makes sense… But wait, if Eggman Nega didn't exist, then how could he remember anything?!"

"I see you've caught on," Nega said, pulling a small monitor out of his coat as Blaze charged forward. "Ah-ah-ah." Nega pushed a switch, revealing an image of a small racoon girl tied up and unconscious on a metallic floor.

"Marine!" Blaze gasped, stopping as she stared her friend, and then up at Nega. "You monster! What did you do?!"

"Just a little sleeping gas," Nega said, frowning as the monitor hovered into the air beside him. "Trust me, you'd have done the same thing if you were there while she was still awake."

"Let her go, Nega! This has nothing to do with her!" Silver demanded, but Nega simply waved his finger dismissively.

"You're in no position to be making demands. With just one push of a button, I can detonate my ship, taking your friend with it."

Blaze gritted her teeth, clenched her fists and leaned forward… but ultimately relented. She signalled for Silver to back off, her eyes drifting to the side. "I see… So she's _in your ship_." Blaze cleared her throat. "Which you parked in the outskirts of Soleanna, just a couple miles from the city. So nobody could possibly find her…"

"That's right. She was with you the whole time," Nega gloated. "Oh don't worry, I'll let your friend go. All you have to do is surrender yourself, and Iblis, to me."

Blaze stared into the distance, narrowing her eyes. After a lengthy silence, she nodded her head. "Do you really think you can control Iblis? You saw what it did to the world, you saw how it destroyed everyone and every_thing_ with no discrimination."

"Oh, I don't _need_ to control it," Nega said, adjusting his glasses. "I just need to unleash it upon this world, and let it do its thing. I'll watch comfortably from the safety of my ship, high above this planet's atmosphere. When it's finished, I'll simply move Iblis to another planet, and let it be _their_ problem. In fact, I could send him to Mobius – two birds with one stone!"

"What would you have to gain from all of this?" Blaze asked.

"From the ashes of this world, I'll build my glorious empire! I'll make my mark in history, and show everyone that they were wrong to underestimate me! I'll show my ancestor how it's done! Why bother conquering the world when I can simply destroy the old one?"

"Sounds like the coward's way out to me…"

Nega simply chuckled at that. "That won't work on me. My ancestor maybe, but I'm a level beyond him. Now then, time to release Iblis."

Blaze glanced at the screen, where Marine was beginning to stir in her sleep. '_Darn, I need more time, but I'm out of questions I can ask him!_'

Silver saw the panic on Blaze's face. He cursed himself for not being able to help her. '_I've gotta do what I can, even if it's just a ploy to buy time!_' Silver ran forward, placing himself between Nega and Blaze. "Just answer me this – how come you know all of this? Even after seeing that world, I still don't remember a thing!"

"Ah, a valid question," Nega praised. "To tell you the truth, I didn't know that much at all. When I came into contact with the Ifrit, vague images flashed through my mind. Images of a world covered in flame, of you and Blaze fighting the Iblis, Mephiles tricking you, and of Solaris' ultimate demise."

"Solaris?"

"When Solaris was erased from time, it should have wipe any memories of the original timeline from everybody's mind. But I theorize that the Ifrit and Solaris share a connection. The memories of the unaltered timeline were stored inside the Ifrit, and some of them were then transferred to me."

"But we've altered the past before! Er, after that time, that is." Silver scratched the back of his head, a bewildered look on his face. "Honestly I've sort of lost track of how many times I've changed the future, but I know I can _remember_ all those times."

"The reason for that is because Solaris was a god of time. Wiping him out of existence had effected the timeline far more than your simple meddling. The only one who escaped the rewriting of time was the one who was no longer present in this world."

"… Me," Blaze concluded. "And Iblis, too. Because he was sealed within me."

"Although you were reincarnated and lost your memory, those memories themselves still existed inside of you. All they needed was the right trigger in order to surface." Nega pushed Silver aside. "And all I needed was the location of Iblis' seal. How convenient that it was right here in front of me."

"And you set this whole thing up just for that? What about the researchers?"

"Come now, surely you know the truth by now," Nega said, a wide grin spread across his face. "Oh, but if you want me to say it, then fine – the researchers here are _dead_. I came here and cleaned this place out days before I met with you, and set up an elaborate illusion to make it seem as though they were still alive."

"All to bring me here and touch the Sceptre of Darkness, without making it obvious that that was your goal this whole time." Blaze looked to the side, and grinned. "Too bad for you," she said, "That all that work will be for nothing!"

Nega took a sudden step back. "N-No hasty moves now, or your friend-"

"What will happen, Doctor?" a voice asked behind Nega, followed by the tip of a kunai knife being pressed against his back. Nega raised him arms and slowly turned his head to look behind himself. There, he saw a purple chameleon appearing from nowhere.

"W-Who are _you_?!"

"My insurance," Blaze said, walking towards Eggman Nega. "I asked his friends to come to this world ahead of us, and asked _him_ to follow us to wherever you led."

"Vector and Charmy have your friend," Espio reported. "They've taken her somewhere safe."

"Thanks," Blaze replied, watching with delight as Nega checked his monitor, only to find that Marine was indeed gone. "And thank _you_, Nega, for helping me remember my past. But Iblis will _not_ be revived! No matter what happens, I'll see to it that it stays sealed _forever_!"

"You… You tricked me!"

"What goes around, comes around!" Silver chided, his hands glowing as he also approached Nega.

"GRRRRR! You'll regret this!" Nega spun around, grabbing Espio's arm and pulling him forward. As Espio regained his footing, Nega held up his arm, revealing a keypad strapped to his wrist. "You're not the only ones who brought insurance!" he shouted as he ran from Blaze and Silver. He hit a few buttons, and within seconds, two beings dropped from the ceiling, cutting off his pursers.

Blaze and Silver gasped, as they stared at robotic duplicates of themselves! A mechanical Blaze, equipped with flamethrowers and a shield generator, and a Silver, equipped with a golden armour that emitted a neon glow. "That's armour from the future!" Silver stated. "Well, the future that used to exist… After Solaris but before Infinite… Gah, this is so confusing."

"Don't overthink it," Nega said. "All you need to know is that my genius will be what ends you. That simple enough, hedgehog?"

"Blaze, that armour enhances psychic abilities," Silver warned.

"I'll leave that one to you, then," Blaze responded. "Espio, can you watch my back?"

"Roger," Espio said, turning invisible.

Blaze charged towards her metallic counterpart, flames burning hot, and delivered a spinning kick. Metal Blaze blocked it and pointed its flamethrowers at her. It sprayed fire, but Blaze created a flaming shield to absorb it, and then released it in an explosion that knocked the robot back.

Meanwhile, Silver and Metal Silver were locked in a battle of willpower as either one tried to push the other one back with their psychic powers. Silver, realising that he was getting nowhere fast, released his psychic hold and flew into the air quickly. Metal Silver followed, only to be knocked down by a sudden dropkick from Silver.

Blaze used her flames to boost herself forwards, ramming Metal Blaze and knocking her down. She continued on her path, heading straight for Nega.

Metal Blaze extended one of its arms to catch Blaze, but a kunai knife from the shadows severed the mechanical limb. Espio revealed himself above the downed robot, a shuriken in his left hand. "The path is clear, Blaze."

Eggman Nega watched with glee as Blaze approached him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red gemstone, holding it up as Blaze got within clobbering range. An intense light blinded her momentarily. "No more cheap tricks!" Blaze shouted, unleashing a fiery tornado around herself until she could see again.

"B-Blaze…"

Blaze gasped. Silver's voice sounded so strained, so weak. She turned around, horrified at what she saw. Espio lay on the floor in the distance, a knife in his back as Metal Blaze stood over his lifeless body. And Silver… Silver crawled towards Blaze, blood pouring from a hole in his chest, his face pale and his eyes dark.

"Blaze… Help… me…"

"SILVER!" Blaze rushed over to her friend, grabbing him before he could collapse. She kneeled on the floor, resting his head in her lap, and looked down into his eyes. "Silver, stay with me! You're going to be okay! I am not losing you, not now!"

"Blaze… Please, save yourse- self…" Silver's breathing stopped then, and his eyes closed.

Blaze's hands trembled, her breath caught in her throat. She felt a chill down her spin and a raging fire in the pit of her stomach. "Silver… No. No no no NO NO!" Blaze unleashed a fury of fire towards the two robotic replicas, screaming as she melted them, and turn their metallic corpses to ashes. "AAAAAHHHHHHH! Silver, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! I know, I shouldn't have trusted Nega! But I was just… I was so desperate! I wanted to know the truth about my past! About who I am!" Blaze gritted her teeth and slammed her fists into the floor. "And then I asked you to come along with me, putting you in danger for my own selfish desires!"

Tears began to well in Blaze's eyes, and as the first drop landed on Silver, Eggman Nega's laughter began to fill the room. The burning feeling in Blaze's stomach began to grow, and flames started to swirl all around her body as she let out on final, blood-curdling scream.

* * *

"Blaze! BLAZE!"

Blaze awoke with a start. Looking down from above her was… "Silver?"

Silver smiled, and helped Blaze up and onto her feet. "Thank goodness! I thought you were… Well, I'm glad you're okay."

"I… don't understand. I thought that you were…" Blaze felt more tears welling in her eyes, and quickly wiped them away. She jumped forward and hugged Silver, holding him tight. "I saw you die. You and Espio, you were both killed by those robots."

Silver frowned, returning the hug despite the embarrassment he felt. "We're fine, Blaze. That was just an illusion, brought on by the Phantom Ruby."

Blaze separated the hug, and gave Silver a quizzical look. "The Phantom Ruby?"

"The very stone that Eggman used to conquer our world six months ago," Espio explained, starling Blaze and causing her to almost jump out of her skin. "It appears that he had managed to salvage one of the prototypes, though he seemed to use up the last of its energy on that last illusion." Espio opened his hand, revealing specs of red dust that shimmered in the light.

"So what I saw… was just an illusion?"

Silver nodded. "Espio and I defeated the robots, but then we heard you scream. When we turned around, you were crying… and then flames started coming out of you, but not the usual kind."

"Iblis," Blaze whispered. "Oh no. Crying." Blaze held a hand to her face and groaned. "My tears broke the seal!"

"Your tears?"

"Yes… Ever since I was a little girl, I've never shed a tear. Not even one. I never knew why, but I always knew that, no matter what, I must never cry… but now I understand. It was to keep Iblis from breaking free." Blaze looked around. "But… where is it? And Nega?"

Silver pointed up, and Blaze followed his direction to find a large hole in the ceiling, allowing sunlight to fill the room. "Iblis broke out of here as soon as he was freed, and Nega took off when he saw that we beat his robots."

"It's all my fault." Blaze hung her head low. "Iblis is free because of my actions."

"Hey, don't say that!" Silver protested. "This isn't on you at all! According to that vision we saw, Iblis would've been free some day anyway, right?!"

"Well, yes but-"

"No buts! One way or another, Iblis was going to be unleashed on the world. At least now, we have a chance to stop it."

Blaze shook her head. "Silver, we tried to stop it, countless times. Iblis is immortal – if we damage it, it will just regenerate! It took sealing it in another dimension to stop it, but even that only shifted the problem elsewhere."

Silver groaned. "C'mon, Blaze! Being negative is _my_ job! You're the one who's supposed to pep-talk us into never giving up!"

"But what can we do?"

Silver grinned. "Well, maybe we exhausted all the options in the original timeline, but right here, right now, we have something that we didn't have before."

Blaze tilted her head and thought for a moment, before catching on. "You mean the Sol Emeralds? But… will that even work?"

"Who knows? But I don't wanna call it quits until I know I've tried everything!"

Blaze clenched her hands into fists, stared up at the hole in the ceiling that led to the surface… and then gave a resolute nod. "You're right. This isn't over – not yet. Espio!"

"I have them here," Espio said, producing a briefcase that contained the seven Sol Emeralds. "As requested, I kept them safe in case they would be needed."

The emeralds rose from the case and circled around Blaze, who closed her eyes and concentrated. She reached out and grabbed Silver's hand, who likewise close his eyes and focussed on the power channelling into him.

A flash of light engulfed the two, and they transformed into Burning Blaze and Super Silver. "Let's do this, Blaze!" Silver said.

"Yes, let's put an end to this once-and-for-all!"

The two flew up through the hole in the ceiling, arriving on the surface, where they could see the ocean that they were previously submerged under now solid rock.

The skyline in the distance was red. The two exchanged a quick nod, and then took of in that direction.

* * *

"MWA-HAHAHAHAH! This is going more splendid than I ever envisioned!" Eggman Nega cackled from his floating pod as he watched the fleeing citizens of Soleanna, delighting in their screams as lava and fire engulfed their beloved city. "Run, run while you can! Soon your world will be reduced to ash, and there's not a thing you can do to stop it!"

"Think again, Nega!" Silver flew into the scene, using his telekinesis to stop the flow of lava before it engulfed several townsfolk down below. "Hurrry! Get out of here!"

The townsfolk thanked the golden hedgehog, and then followed the directions of Vector and Charmy, who were helping the evacuation efforts with the Soleanna Royal Guard.

"Bah! You think you can defeat Iblis? He is eternal!"

"We'll just have to see about that!" Blaze shouted as she arrived, hovering in the air besides Silver. "Doctor, if I were you, I'd run now. Because after we're through with Iblis, you're next!"

"Tough words, but they mean nothing in the face of a god!" Nega looked down at the pool of lava, where a large, four-armed monster composed of magma arose. "And it looks like said god is not too thrilled with your interference. I'll enjoy watching your demise!"

"It's time to put an end to this, Iblis!" Blaze shouted.

"You put us through a lot of trouble in the past! Even if I've forgotten, you hurt my friend!" Silver charged forwards, his hands glowing as he moved to avoid large balls of molten rock being hurled his way. "There's no way I'll let you get away with that!"

Silver reached Iblis' body and used his psychic powers to blast a hole through it. The hole began to mend itself, but Silver quickly used his powers to keep it open. "Blaze, now!"

Blaze flew inside the hole and erupted her flames around herself. Iblis began to cry out as its body began to fall apart from the inside. Eventually, enough of its body crumbled away to reveal a large ball of flames.

"That's the main body!" Blaze shouted. She focussed her flames on it, whilst Silver flew up and crated a telekinetic field around the flames, compressing them.

"What are you doing, Iblis?! Fight back!" Nega shouted, but to his horror, the only thing that Iblis could do was release a violent explosion and then flee. Its size was much smaller, and it showed no signs of regenerating. "It can't be! How?!"

"It's working, Blaze!" Silver cheered. "Let's keep it up!"

"I'm with you, Silver!"

As the two chased after Iblis, it began to form another magma-based armour around itself. This time, it resembled a large serpent, much like the smaller ones terrorising the city below. "I'll create the opening this time!" Blaze said, using her flames to blast apart the rocks being hurled towards them. As she reached the serpent, she focused her flames into her hands, and then unleashed them, creating a powerful blast that opened up Iblis' armour.

Silver hurried inside and used his powers to make the hole bigger, and bigger, until eventually, the serpent was cut into two. The head fell to the lava below, disintegrating and revealing the ball of flames inside. Blaze dove down after Iblis and wrapped it in a sphere of fire. "Silver!"

"I'm on it!" Silver used his powers to once again compress the flames around Iblis, creating a powerful explosion that caused it to shrink even more.

Nega slammed his fists in rage as he watched the battle unfold. "_This_ is what I've wasted all this time trying to revive?! This pathetic creature couldn't _possibly_ be considered the 'Flames of Destruction'!" Nega gritted his teeth as he watched Iblis retreat once more. "Is it the Sol Emeralds that allow them harm him? Or is it because Solaris no longer exists?"

"Everyone, this way!" Charmy shouted down below, whilst Vector worked to clear out the last few Iblis creatures that were still terrorising the city.

Nega sighed. "It seems that this was all for nothing. Fine, have your victory for now!" A grin spread across his face as he turned to leave. "It won't be for long. Since this was a bust, I'll just have to return to my original plan…"

Iblis formed another layer of armour around itself, this one more humanoid in shape. It sported two long arms, two legs with axe-shaped feet, and a head. As Blaze and Silver approached, it swung its arms at the two.

Blaze avoided two swipes, and then unleashed a flaming kick that severed one of its arms. Silver meanwhile went low, and used his powers to pull at the creature's legs, throwing off its balance. Blaze reached the head and charged, her fist extended and covered in raging flames.

She pushed through the head, shattering it and revealing Iblis inside. "This is the end for you," Blaze said, holding up one hand and creating a ball of fire that grew in size very quickly. Iblis tried to flee, but was stopped by Silver's powers. "For all the people you killed, and for tearing me away from my friend!" Blaze threw the ball, and it engulfed Iblis for several seconds.

She and Silver flew to a safe distance and watched as it exploded, filling the immediate area with a blinding light. When the light vanished, so had Iblis. The remains of his final armour turned to ash, and fell down to the streets of Soleanna, where the flames and the lava were no more.

Silence descended over the city, only broken when Silver punched the air cheered, "Oh yeah! We did it, Blaze!"

Blaze couldn't help but smile, and laugh, as she and Silver high-fived. "We sure did! Thanks, Silver, for being there for me."

"Ah, don't mention it. I'm sure you bailed me out of a few jams before."

"Well, maybe a few," Blazed said with a smirk. "Or more like a lot." The two laughed as they hovered in the air, until a gruff voice below called out to them.

"Hey, you guys!" Vector called out, drawing their attention down to where cheering townsfolk had gathered. "You alright?!"

"We're just fine, Vector!" Blaze responded, gently lowering herself to the ground with Silver following. Their super forms reverted, returning them to their regular colours. "Sorry for all the mess I caused… I didn't think things could get so out of control."

"You kiddin'? We all make mistakes sometimes," Vector said, giving Blaze a toothy grin and a thumbs up. "What counts is when you can clean your own mess. You two are heroes, so be happy!"

"BLAAAAAAAAAAAAZE!" Blaze turned just in time to be tackled to the ground by an energetic, brown blur. As her vision cleared, Blaze could see that the blur was her friend, Marine, crying her eyes out as she wrapped her arms tightly around the cat. "BLAZE, YOU'RE OKAY!"

Blaze smiled awkwardly as she tried to pry the crying racoon off of her. "Y-Yes, I am, but… isn't this a little backwards? _I_ was the one worried about _you_."

"Oi, what's that mean?!" Marine demanded, wiping her tears away and standing tall-and-proud, hands on her hips and chest puffed out. "I wasn't in any trouble at all! I had the whole thing under control, 'least 'fore these landlubbers came an' messed up my plan!"

Vector folded his arms and gave Marine a dry stare. "You're _welcome_."

Marine simply huffed and turned away. "I'm sure you _did_ have things under control," Blaze lied, "But still, I couldn't help but worry. If anything had happened to you because of _me_, well I… I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself."

Marine and Blaze exchanged stares in silence for a few seconds, before the former finally broke it with an indignant groan. "Cor blimey, Blaze, what're ya doing gettin' all sappy on me like that?!" Turning away to hide her blush, she added, "Well, it's nice ta know my first mate thinks of me so highly."

"Hey guys!" Charmy called out as he approached the group. "Guys, the princess wants to see you!"

"The princess?" Silver asked.

Charmy nodded enthusiastically. "She wants to thank the heroes that saved the city! C'mon!"

Blaze frowned. "That's… really too much. I mean, the city wouldn't have been in danger to begin with if-"

"Now, let's not be hasty, Blaze," Silver said. "I mean, the princess herself invited us so she could thank us. It would be rude to decline, right?"

"Silver…" Blaze shot Silver a sly grin. "You just want to join the celebration, don't you?"

"I've never been to any festivals or celebrations before!" Silver's crouched and tried to resist the urge to explode in excitement. "I bet there'll be streamers and confetti, and some fireworks, and surfing-"

"Surfing?" Blaze asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think he might mean 'crowd surfing'," Vector offered.

"I don't know what it is but I wanna try it!"

Blaze couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I doubt there'll be all that," she said, and her heart sank as she saw Silver's smile begin to fall, "But I'm sure it'll still be a great new experience for you. Come on, let's go."

Silver's smile returned in full-force. "Yes!"

* * *

Silver and Blaze looked on in awe as the citizens of Soleanna gathered together to cheer for the two of them, cheering and hurling praise their way. Blaze simply waved back, a little overwhelmed by all the attention that she was getting, and watched with some amusement as Silver took it all in and cheered back at his admirers.

The applause died down as Princess Elise took the stage, approaching Blaze and placing a medal around her neck. "Brave heroes, who protected our city, the royal family, and all of Soleanna, thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

"It was kind of our fault though," Blaze said quietly, staring down at her medal with unease. "We were just cleaning up our mess…"

Elise shook her head. "Your friend, Espio, filled us in on what happened down in the research centre. According to what he said, this whole thing began because _I_ released Iblis."

Blaze and Silver shot each other strange looks. "You… believe all of that?"

"Well, my father was understandably sceptical. But I've always had the power to see the honesty in a person's heart, and I could tell that your friend was telling the truth. Though I can't remember it, I'm the one who set these events in motion because of my own inability to keep Iblis sealed away."

Silver sighed. "What is it with you guys trying to shoulder all the blame yourselves? This was all Nega's fault! And besides, we saved the day so what does it even matter?" Elise and Blaze stared at Silver for a few moments, and then broke out into laughter together. "W-What?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Elise said, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Just your purity and naivety are a bit… refreshing," Blaze added.

"Hey, I'm just sayin' it like it is!" Silver argued.

"I know, and you are right, Silver," Elise said, approaching the hedgehog with a second medal. "For your courage and your actions, and your never-faltering resolve in the face of a terrible enemy, I am honoured to award you with this, a token of our gratitude." She draped the medal around Silver's neck, who looked down at it with sparkles in his eyes. "Wear it proudly, and let both our worlds know what it is you have done for all of us."

Silver looked up at the smiling princess before him and smiled. "I will."

"Hey Silver, are you blushing?" Blaze asked, jabbing an elbow to Silver's side.

"Wha? N-No, of course I'm not!" Silver replied, wiping the smile from his face.

"Relax, I'm just teasing you," Blaze said. "Have to make up for lost time, you know?"

Elise laughed as she watched the two, before a tap on her shoulder drew her attention. One of her bodyguards whispered in her ear, and she nodded her head and followed him.

"Hey, speaking of which," Silver began, "In this other timeline, where we lived together, what uh… what were we, exactly?"

Blaze gave a warm smile, and said, "You were like a little brother to me."

"Oh," was all Silver replied.

"Were you hoping for something more?" Blaze teased, to which Silver groaned and turned his back to her.

"No way! I was just curious, that's all!" Silver glanced over his shoulder at Blaze, who was clearly taking pleasure in his reactions, and sighed. "I… still can't remember anything. Not a single thing."

Blaze nodded. "You probably never will. I was the only one safe from the effects of Solaris being wiped from existence."

"But I wanna continue being your friend," Silver continued. "And not just because we were before. Don't think I'm just saying this out of some sort of obligation or anything. I want to be friends with you, Blaze, and spend more time with you doing… well, whatever friends do when the world's no in danger."

"I'd like that," Blaze replied, offering her hand. Silver turned around and shook it. "Thanks, Silver."

"Excuse me," Elise said as she approached the two, "But my father would like to invite you to the palace, to thank you personally. He has prepared a feast to celebrate."

"A feast?" Silver asked, eyes sparkling again. "You bet! Uh, I mean, thanks, Princess."

"We'd be honoured to attend," Blaze said with a small bow.

"Hey hey hey hey hey!" Vector shouted as he, Charmy, Espio and Marine rushed the stage. Elise motioned to the guards to let them pass. "Are you forgettin', our job here's done! We got other things to do back home and have to leave pronto!"

"Unless you have other means of returning, we will have to leave right away," Espio said.

"And I gotta get back and check me ship's not been damaged, or me booty plundered!" Marine protested.

"Of course, the four of you are also invited, as well," Elise said.

"Dinner with the royal family, eh?" Vector mused. "Well in that case, it'd be rude to decline."

"Hey Vector, you're drooling," Charmy pointed out, earning a sharp glare from his boss.

"Awright! Free food and a party!" Marine cheered. "What're we waitin' for?!"

"It's not going to be that kind of party," Espio tried to warn, but the racoon was already walking side-by-side with Elise, asking about all the fancy foods that would be there. "Well, it seems our other clients will have to wait."

"Ah it'll be fine. Probably just some lost pets or helpin' old grannies with the shoppin'," Vector said as he and his team followed the princess.

Blaze turned to Silver. "Shall we?"

Silver gulped as he and Blaze began to follow. "Uh, I'm kinda nervous actually. How do I talk to royalty, exactly?"

"You're talking to me just fine, are you not?" Silver frowned, and Blaze laughed. "Don't worry about it. Just be yourself. You're great as you are."

Silver smiled at his friend's reassurance. "Heh, yeah. Just gotta be myself, that's all! Maybe I can impress the duke with my powers!"

"That's the spirit!" Blaze gazed up at the clear skies with a calm, content smile on her face. She mouthed a silent 'thank you', and continued to talk and laugh with Silver all the way to the palace.


End file.
